The cost of living in the Philippines.

CLARENCEW
Very well said, u r spot on in ur surmation of the situation.
intending foreigner should read & take notice, two most important point u make in my opinion, u need the right women!!
and frequenting the bars(which mostly are brothels as well)is a very costly & u put yourself in company with wrong types
Pete

Yes and many of our fellow expats fall into this trap and I really feel bad for them, with the money we receive from retirement our other sources one could live a very, very comfortable life here if your smart and invest it right and start a business and surround yourself with the right people, a lot of Filipinos are not corrupt as many may think I would say over 90% of them are honest and hard working and just need that chance to show what they can do, and yes finding the right woman is very key to the succes of any expat because almost all ofthe women here are business minded and by the way the women out number the men here by 7 to 1 so finding a good woman is not hard just don't got to the bar scene to sort them out in my view but who I'm I to say how one live their life here for me I choose not to go down that path. I found a wonderful woman who is kind, caring, thoughtful, loving and who has a very good mind for business so I'm lucky in that sense.

Hi,

Nice share, well.. im from Indonesia, about to coming to makati very soon. Im a single woman, who will work and live in a company branch office in Salcedo Vilage, Makati. Im searching also for the living cost there or some said that makati is also expensive, so where is the nearest to my office? or could you advise me a nice link to accomodate this ?

Look forward from you,

Your Sincerely,
Pat

Hi Pat,

I work in Makati, and I frequent Salcedo Village. Expats are well paid here comparatively to local workers, so I'm sure you can definitely afford living here.

tanya8i8 wrote:

Hi Pat,

I work in Makati, and I frequent Salcedo Village. Expats are well paid here comparatively to local workers, so I'm sure you can definitely afford living here.

Hi tanya,

thanks alot,

actually i do hope so that i get a well paid also :-). Could i message you if i need detail advise in the future ?

Thanks
pat

Sure, No problem..

amboinapearl wrote:

tanya8i8 wrote:

Hi Pat,

I work in Makati, and I frequent Salcedo Village. Expats are well paid here comparatively to local workers, so I'm sure you can definitely afford living here.

Hi tanya,

thanks alot,

actually i do hope so that i get a well paid also :-). Could i message you if i need detail advise in the future ?

Thanks
pat

Hello ! We'll be moving there(Tarlac) in the next few years..and looking to start a café. Where exactly are you from originally, if I may ask ?

Yes I live here on $2,000 a month like a prince.  Gated subdivision with pool and basketball court, park for the kids & girl friend.   2 Airconditioners and such.  So life can be good here.  That is with girlfriend and 1 child hers. We eat good but cook at home.  Go to the market for most food. And well I have learned to did to the bottom of the  bins for cloths my size.  But I dress better here than I ever did in America.  So you need learn how to shop here. And live here. Or you will pay as much as in America you want all 1st class.  But life can be very good here if you get out and learn to shop. And beach, movies are very cheap. Bar hopping will cost you.  So if you want a good relaxing simple life this is a good place to be and live.  Money is hard to make here and very competitive here to make.

James.. thanks for your thoughts..much appreciated !  We'll be planning and planning..and maybe living on the family famr for a year or two while finishing up our studies..and figuring out how & where to open a little café with great food..unique feel to it. Heavy on the take-away. Nice to hear how much you're enjoying it. Me, the 100% American of the bunch, have always loved every minute spent in the Philippines.

GREAT STORY...THANKS FOR SHARING ....I AM ALSO A AMERICAN LIVING IN CEBU ON MY RETIREMENT...YES, SSI MONEY IS ENOUGH TO LIVE ON....I COACH 14 PRO BOXERS ..WILL FLY TO MEXICO TO FIGHT FOR A WBC BELT ON FEB 14TH...BUT I NEVER TAKE MONEY FROM THESE POOR BOXERS...IN LIFE YOU MUST GIVE MORE...EXPECT LESS...REGARDS...JOE

Well said Joe. Good luck to the guys. They are guys, right !?

That's awesome, were going to build our store in April then open it around September and in 3-5 years were going to open a grocery store, we know it will be hard work but we can do it, living here is great if you realize and of course know how it works here in respect to business, never give up keep pushing and you will make it here, of course many of us here have steady income from our retirement and that allows us to use it in the right way to invest and further grow your wealth here, I believe everyone has the same chance it's up to you and how you change your mindset being wealthy is not bad it's how you use your wealth that will determine what type of person you are. So were building our wealth but we will in turn give back and use it in a positive way. Let say for example if one has an retirement of 70,000 pesos per month and may of us fall in that group you can live good here if your smart, it's okay to rent first build up your savings then invest in a business, there are many expats who follow this path myself included, we realize that your money can go even further if your smart, we don't have a house yet but in a few years we will have a nice house and a growing business, there is no get rich quick plans just hard work, one must think long term not short term, we have a 15 year plan we break it down in stages of 5 years, after 5 years we see where were at and how much progress we made if we need to adjust or keep it the way it is, so our first 5 years is the store we will let it grow for 5 years then after the 5 years we will see where we are if we can expand or make some adjustments then expand, and so on, so it is doable it's not impossible many may try to sway you from not doing it and that's because their to afraid to try so we don't listen to any negative feedback we embrace it and use it as motivation or fuel to push us harder towards our goals, I know it's a long post but I just want to make a point that it is not hard to become wealthy here.

Peace and love

Well done young man !..good plan, and great philosophy. wishing you the best. I look forward to continuing the "e"-chat.
-Mike

Thank you for your reply, I just wanted to give my view on life here and how one can live comfortable and have a positive mindset, many may have their own ways and choose to live here on their own terms but I just want to give my take on if you want to live much more comfortable lifestyle then you can and it's not impossible as many may think you just have to change how you view things here, if you want to hang out in the bars and entertain many women here then that's what many have chosen to do and many have chosen to use their retirement in a positive and more productive way and obtain more wealth, so that's how I view my time here and I will continue to build our business for our family and children and those around us in a positive way that's what our goal is and this is a beautiful place to live and retire and build a business and build positive wealth.

Peace and love

Excellent. To you as well.

So if some one made 2525.07 would live nice in Tarlac Philippines

Great story about the people i live in taguig and ready to move asap

Thank you ever so much for your knowledge of how to be financially smart there. I am moving over in June and am planning like many to live from my Service Connected Pension and Social Security. Would you consider perhaps walking me through the transition. I have a very nice woman around my age that I will be engaged in a relationship with who owns her own business and has positive aspirations.